Complex Memories – the Notion of ה’ זכרך

August 27, 2009

EnglishThe verses, which constitute the Verses of Praise (פסוקי דזמרא) are not always easy to understand, and erroneous associations can make understanding these verses an even greater challenge.

One verse I find particularly difficult is part of יהי כבוד (more on that payer below):

ה’ שִׁמְךָ לְעֹולָם\ ה’ זִכְרְךָ לְדֹר־וָדֹֽר׃

Artscroll translates it as [quotes are in the AS translation]:

“HASHEM” is Your Name forever/
“HASHEM” is Your memorial throughout the generations.

What does is mean that “HASHEM is Your Name forever?” Did anyone suggest that G”d would, as it were, contemplate changing his name?

And how is a name a “memorial?” Read the rest of this entry »

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Damit man uns nicht vergisst

August 7, 2009

DeutschWas sind die Herausforderungen des europäischen Judentums? Kann das europäische Judentum wieder glanzen, und wie soll es diesen Glanz entwickeln? Anbei folgendie notwendige Grundzüge einer europäischen jüdischen Identität, die aber lieber nicht in Museen und Judaistikzentren blühen wird – auch diese sind wichtig, aber spielen nur eine sekundäre Rolle -, weil wir nicht nur eine ruhmreiche Vergangenheit in Erinnerung beibehalten wollen, sondern eine Zukunft, dass wir nicht die Ausstellung des Museums werden, dass das europäische Judentum sich nicht versteinigt und nicht die Fehler des 19. Jh. wiederholt.

Am Anfang des neuen Schuljahres und in Vorbereitung zum europäischen Tag der jüdischen Kultur ist dieser Aufsatz hochst aktuell.

–Arie Folger, 7. August 2009 Read the rest of this entry »

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How did Psalm 30 Land in the Morning Service

July 31, 2009

EnglishOne of the pleasures of having come to Basel was, that I was suddenly confronted with what seemed to me rather strange liturgical minhaggim, as up until then I had assumed that my tradition was of course the standard; a common human fallacy. One of the things I discovered, is that, while every synagogue I could remember visiting up until then, included Psalm 30 (מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית) in the morning liturgy, to be recited before Baruch SheAmar, in Basel, it was ignored.

My first indication that this Psalm’s inclusion in the liturgy deserved some scrutiny came even before I encountered Minhag Basel, from hearing about R’ Joseph Ber Soloveitchik’s personal minhag of reciting said Psalm only after Barukh SheAmar, for in his opinion it was only within the framework of Pessuqei deZimra that one could begin to recite Psalms in the morning liturgy. (However, he had no objection to the liturgical recitation of Psalms after Pessuqei deZimra.) However, that was a chiddush of R’ Soloveitchik; it never was an established minhag.

So how come that it is recited in most communities, while many Yeckishe communities skip it? Read the rest of this entry »

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Der Gebetstourist

March 2, 2009

DeutschWas hat das folgende Thema mit Pèssach zu tun? Na ja, wie kann man, nach dem das Publikum bereits acht Tage Matzen isst, noch während einer Rede wach halten? Der Frühling wird gespürt, und die Leuten traumen doch bereits von den Sommerferien, die sie längst planen, also bleiebn sie erst wach, als wir zusammen von den Ferien traumen dürfen. So entstand die Predigt “Der Gebetstourist”, wobei hoffentlich nachher die Interesse wachst, auch zum 8. mal an Jomtov mit Konzentration und Ernst, aber auch mit Freude und Jubelgesang das Gebet zu beleben.

–Arie Folger, 3. März, ’09 Read the rest of this entry »

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Official vs Personal Ritual Observance

February 27, 2009

EnglishWhich kind of religious observance or experience is primary, the national, or the personal? Likewise, is the observance of the Law primary, despite the fact that it may take on a mechanical form, or the developing of deep religious feelings, buttressed by esoteric teachings?

Clearly, the dominant form of Jewish worship since the destruction of the second Beit haMiqdash has been personal, as the national cultic centre had been destroyed. And Judaism’s emphasis on laws, while not denying the role of religious experiences and concomitant emotions, clearly puts more weight on observance of the Law. But how are we to reconcile this attitude with the commandment to create a sancturay, as stated in Parshat Teruma וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתֹוכָם׃ – let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Shemot 25:8)?

Read the rest of this entry »

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Well Placed Trust

February 26, 2009

englishIn anticipation and following last week’s parsha, a number of people remarked to me how the Torah puts tremendous trust in people, even in rather questionable situations. Two examples were particularly mentioned, first of all, the trust put in the hands of the master who has purchased a Hebrew maidservant and has decided to either marry her himself, or marry her off to his son. Either way, the Torah remarks:

אִם־אַחֶ֖רֶת יִֽקַּֽח־לֹ֑ו שְׁאֵרָ֛הּ כְּסוּתָ֥הּ וְעֹנָתָ֖הּ לֹ֥א יִגְרָֽע׃

If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment, and her conjugal rights, shall he not diminish. (Shemot 21)

Even though not all three things due to her are equally private, they are all part of the private relationship between a husband and wife. How is she to prove that she is mistreated? How is she to avoid being mistreated? It seems that the Torah put its trust in the slave owner. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Road of Kiddush haShem

February 6, 2009

EnglishLiving a life that radiates Kiddush haShem (sanctification of the Divine Name) is very high on the list of Jewish values. We promote behavior that allows us to bring “light unto the nations,” to use the Isaian paradigm, and frown upon behavior that puts Jews and Judaism in a negative light. Many a parent or teacher has admonished his or her charges to refrain from Chillul haShem, the polar opposite of Kiddush haShem.

What, however, are Kiddush and Chillul haShem? Is it about appearances and manners? … about what is and is not acceptable in the respective cultures we inhabit, a concept mostly applicable in the vast Jewish Diaspora? Read the rest of this entry »

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Now Shalt Thou See

January 21, 2009

flag-uk_usa-tinyAfter three weeks of heavy fighting, during which the Israeli Defense Forces inflicted heavy losses upon the Hamas terrorrist infrastructure, Israel and in turn, Hamas, declared unilateral ceasefires. On the one hand, the Israeli offensive has been phenomenally impressive, showing how much the IDF and the political leadership have learned from the Second Lebanon War, which was widely considered a failure, even as it did teach Hizbollah not to mess any more with Israel.

However, even today, a few days into the ceasefire, the media report that smuggling tunnels are again in operation. Even now, there is a feeling that the “Cast Lead” military campaign ended inconclusively; Hamas, while very much weakened, is still committed to terrorism (see the concluding paragraph).

So, Israel has come out better than after the Second Lebanon War, but things are still murky.

In retrospect, some words I wrote in the aftermath of the earlier war – in a sermon entitled “Now You Shall See” – seem somewhat prescient, and hence reassuring regarding the future. After rereading those words, I think that it is appropriate to affirm that, despite the lingering lack of clarity, there will be even more light at the end of this tunnel. Read the rest of this entry »

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Inevitable Leadership

January 16, 2009

EnglishStudents of modern history are often impressed with the seeming inevitability of Germany’s role leading to World War II, on account of the harsh conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. Indeed, the noted British economist John Maynard Keynes, whose ideas are in fact being celebrated by governments eager to spend their way out of the current recession, called it a “Carthaginian Peace.” According to Keynes, the terms of the Treaty were too harsh and would not promote long term peace. Dan Rowling later (1951) considered the Treat an outright cause for World War II.

What role, if any, does the inevitability of history play in the events unfolding in the Torah? Are only historical events sometimes inevitable, or also spiritual-historical events? Read the rest of this entry »

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Die einfache Leseweise der Torá / The Simple Reading of Torah

December 26, 2008

How does one glean the straightforward meaning of Scripture?

BEMERKUNG: Ich plane diesen Aufsatz ins Deutsche zu übersetzen, werde es aber wahrscheinlich erst während der zweite Hälfte von Januar tun.

flag-uk_usa-tinyOnce upon a time, when I was still in secondary school, our primary language teacher challenged us, using two predetermined phrases and a set of conjunctions to produce sentences that explore the logical relationship between the two phrases. The two phrases we were assigned sounded like:
a) he basked for hours in the sun
b) he got tanned.
The class effortlessly combined the two phrases with the conjunction “and,” producing the sensible sentence “He basked hours in the sun AND he got tanned.” However, by the time we had to repeat the same exercise with the conjunction “but,” the whole class butted heads and had no clue how to proceed. “Can’t we add “did not´´ to the second phrase?” we all asked. Read the rest of this entry »

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